Today it was announced that 2027-five-start small forward DeMarcus Henry has announced his commitment to the University of North Carolina. The announcement was made on NBA Today, and concludes a recruitment that involved the Heels, Louisville, Kentucky, and Arkansas.
Henry is a 6-7, 190 forward that currently plays for Compass Prep in Chandler, AZ. He is the best small forward in the country, and the third-best overall player per the 247Sports Composite rankings. As far as the ESPN rankings so, they
have him as the second-best overall player in their SC Next 100 Class of 2027.
Regarding what kind of player Michael Malone is getting, Henry is a guy that measures out really well and has strong mechanics both with his feet and also shooting the ball. Scouting reports state that he has a lot of defensive upside as a guy that is able to switch very well, which sounds like it fits Malone’s mold well given what we’ve seen in exhibition play from the Tar Heels. Offensively, Henry has performed really well both from inside and outside the arc — during the EYBL Circuit over the summer, he averaged 52% from the field, and 38% from deep. There a lot of potential for what Henry could accomplish on the court despite a lot of talk previously as being more of a 3-and-D guy. We could see a Caleb Wilson-like explosion from Henry when it’s all said and done, but it really depends on 1.) if Michael Malone can indeed get that kind of production out of him, and 2.) if the proper team is built around him.
This is exciting news for Carolina fans, and even more exciting news for Michael Malone. After having to do what he was able to do in the transfer portal, he now has his first building block for his 2027-28 roster, and it’s a really good one. Even more exciting is the fact that this is just the beginning — there’s been talk for quite some time that Beckham Black and/or Nasir Anderson have shown strong interest in UNC as well as CJ Rosser, all of whom are top 10 prospects. Could we see one of the most insane recruiting classes we’ve seen from UNC in years? It’s very possible, but there’s a lot of time left and a lot of money being thrown around from other schools, so we will have to wait and see how things play out.
But what do you think of Henry’s commitment to the Tar Heels? We want to hear from you in the comments below.
